Phil Foden's Man City treble message as Xavi outlines Joao Cancelo transfer interest

Foden seeks to give Guardiola selection headache

Phil Foden feels ready to give Pep Guardiola the best kind of headache for City after fully recovering from his injury.

Foden, 22, started the season in electric form and scored a hat-trick against FA Cup final opponents Manchester United in a 6-3 walloping at the Etihad in October. However, the Manchester City star began to fall out of the team before the World Cup and has struggled to regain his place since, not helped by a few injuries.

The City forward was forced to sit out some matches including the league game at Arsenal with a niggling foot injury that kept flaring up, and just as he was looking back to his best in performances against Bristol City and Newcastle he had to undergo an emergency operation for appendicitis in March.

That sidelined him for the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern and - with Jack Grealish undroppable on the left wing and Bernardo Silva reaching similar status for big games - meant he played just four minutes in the league win over Arsenal at home and seven minutes across two legs against Real Madrid in the European semi-final.

Winning the Premier League early has allowed Guardiola to play Foden back into rhythm with three consecutive starts, and he showed in particular against Brighton that he could link up brilliantly with Erling Haaland and shine in a strong XI against good opponents. It may feel like the City manager has a settled XI for the biggest games, but Foden feels sharp again and ready to test that theory for the upcoming showdowns that could see the club make history with a Treble.

Read what he had to say here

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